I¡Çm currently in Yokohama, Japan on a business trip. I noticed an article in the ¡ÆJapan Times¡Ç last week about the meeting of the Whaling Commission and the goings on during the meetings. On the next page in the paper was a half page ad with the context of some numbers compared. All the whales eat 187,000,000 tons of fish a year the total human consumption is 90,412,000 tons. Their perspective, the way I read the paper, was that fewer whales meant more fish available for the rest of the world, also the growing number of whales means more consumption.
I¡Çve always thought that the whales have had a hard way to go and could not figure out why any country would still be whaling.
So what do you-all think about that?

They used to use whale oil as an excuse, but there should be better oils available today for use in lamps. As far as the taste, I've never had it so I cannot comment on that other than to say it's probably more a matter of tradition than of taste. The claim regarding prey fish is interesting, as I thought most whales eat plankton and krill, not fish.
I have to wonder if this tradition is similar to the Chinese tradition of eating shark fin soup and bear gall bladders. They are reported to make one more virile. [rolleyes] The number of bears and sharks that die in the process is of no interest to those folks.

"Okay, but I'm not good at details, or the big picture. I also show up late, and drunk. I've got a good feeling about this."- Homer Simpson

If left to do as they please the Japanese whalers would eradicate all large sea mammals in all of the oceans. And their fishing fleets would rape the seven seas using the most destructive and wasteful methods devised.
I do not understand the mind set of the Japanese industrialists or the people of Japan.

You would think that indigenous people like the eskimos would get an exemption, but they didn't get one from the whaling committee. If anyone should be allowed to whale, it's them. They only take what they need, they waste nothing, and they've been able to harvest whales in a sustainable manner for thousands of years.

The Japanese are whaling now. They have whaling ships that "harvest" whales for "research" purposes, then the carcass is sold off for whale sushi and whale sashimi.
They will find any possible angle to justify resumption of commercial whaling.
The Japanese are some of the most arrogant and prejudiced people on this planet...all the while smiling and bowing at you.

Originally Posted By operatorerror:
If left to do as they please the Japanese whalers would eradicate all large sea mammals in all of the oceans. And their fishing fleets would rape the seven seas using the most destructive and wasteful methods devised.
I do not understand the mind set of the Japanese industrialists or the people of Japan.

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Are the Japanese really dumb enough to wipe out their own food supply?

Baleen whales eat plankton and krill, not game fish. These are the targets of Japanese whalers. To give you some perspective, a blue whale would choke on an orange, or so I've read.
Toothed whales, ie the Sperm, Killer whale, and the beluga, on down to the dolphin, are the exception.
Sperm whales eat giant squid almost exclusively.
Killer whales eat whatever they want, up to and including the great baleen whales like the Blue.
The smaller toother whales eat small game fish. None of the toothed whales are hunted in any number nowadays, except maybe the Sperm, I'm not really sure. It got it's name from the high quality oil harvested from them, used for machine lubrication and in lamps. It resembles (gasp!) semen, hence the name.
The Japanese are full of shit on this one. Check the school texts on WWII for more laughs.
HEHE, I said "sperm," Three times and semen once!

Baleen whales eat everything from amphiopods to krill to schooling fish.
Grey whales will suck up mud and strain out whatever they can find. Humpbacks will create a bubble net to trap small fish to eat.